“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that if you’ll have me, I want to build something new with you without my family’s money or connections or conditional approval.”

I pulled him close.

“Are you sure? He’s right about one thing. Walking away from that inheritance is no small thing.”

He laughed and it was the most beautiful sound I’d heard in days.

“Zephr Cross. You just terminated a $2 billion merger because my father disrespected you. I think we’ll figure out the money part.”

“I love you,” I said, meaning it more than ever.

“I love you, too. Even if you did just declare corporate war on my father.”

“Especially because I declared corporate war on your father.”

“Especially because of that,” he agreed, kissing me.

My phone buzzed. Danielle again.

“Ma’am, William Harrington is holding an emergency board meeting. Our sources say they’re discussing reaching out to you directly over his head.”

I put the phone on speaker.

“Tell them Cross Technologies might be willing to discuss a merger with Harrington Industries under new leadership. Emphasis on new.”

Quinn’s eyes widened.

“You’re going to oust my father from his own company.”

“I’m going to give the board a choice. Evolve or perish. What they do with that choice is up to them.”

He thought about it for a moment, then nodded.

“He won’t go quietly.”

“I wouldn’t expect him to.”

“This is going to get ugly.”

“Probably.”

“My mother will cry.”

“Definitely.”

“My sister will write another terrible song about family drama.”

“God help us all.”

She smiled and it was sharp and beautiful and a little bit dangerous.

“So, when do we start?”

I smiled back.

“How about now?”

And that’s how the nobody dating the princess became the king who toppled the kingdom.

Not with a sword or an army, but with a simple truth.

Respect isn’t inherited. It’s earned. And those who refuse to give it when it’s earned, well, they learned the hard way that sometimes the garbage takes itself out and takes everything else with it.

By the following Monday, William Harrington was no longer CEO of Harrington Industries.

By Tuesday, Cross Technologies had announced a merger with the newly restructured company.

By Wednesday, Quinn had accepted a position as our new head of strategic development, turning down her father’s offer to fund a rival venture out of spite.

And by Thursday, well, by Thursday, William Harrington had learned the most expensive lesson of his life.

Never call someone garbage unless you’re prepared to be thrown out with it.

6 months later, Quinn and I were engaged with plans for a small ceremony far away from her father’s social circle. William hadn’t spoken to either of us since his removal as CEO, though Quinn’s mother called weekly, slowly rebuilding their relationship on new, more honest terms.

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